New Audubon exhibit honors Civil War black soldiers

Audubon Museum staff Roy James, center, and seasonal staff member Tom Jake, left, with museum curator Alan Gehret, right, in front of the slavery and soldier display James and Jake put together at the museum Tuesday afternoon, February 7, 2012. The display is in conjunction with the Kentucky Chatauqua program of Rev. Newton Bush on February 11th.

Slave shackles dating back to the mid 1800's, right, a schedule of when slaves could go to church, center, and a taxable inventory of slaves, left, from the Soaper Farm, are on display at Audubon Museum Tuesday afternoon, February 7, 2012. The items are part of a slavery and soldier display and is also part of the Kentucky Chautauqua program being held there on February 11th. That program features Rev. Newton Bush, who was in Company E 5th United States Colored Calvery, from the 1800's.

"Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letter, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on earth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship." — Frederick Douglass

And earn it, he did, by the thousands.

By the end of the Civil War, some 179,000 black men had served as soldiers in the Union Army and an additional 19,000 in the Navy.

Nearly 40,000 of them died over the course of the war, and only about 80 became commissioned officers.

Just as they had suffered indignities and far worse as slaves, they were often treated with prejudice by the very troops they served.

But as information in the National Archives points out, "The soldiers served with distinction in a number of battles. Black infantrymen fought gallantly at Milliken's Bend, La., Port Hudson, La., Petersburg, Va., and Nashville, Tenn.

"The July, 1863 assault on Fort Wagner, S.C., in which the 54th regiment

of Massachusetts Volunteers lost two-thirds of their officers and half of their troops, was memorably dramatized in the film, Glory. By war's end, 16 black soldiers had been awarded the Medal of Honor for their valor."

Kentucky was the last state to allow slaves to enlist in the Union Army, though determined men of color didn't wait for that approval.

Henderson County had its share of African-Americans who served, and the names of all those known to have served are listed in a free and remarkable display called "From Slave to Soldier" that officially opens this Saturday at Audubon Museum, concurrent with a 2 p.m. Chautauqua program on the subject of black soldiers.

Surnames found on the lists include many still-familiar ones, such as Gaines, Gilbert, Dixon, and Yates.

The exhibit in the museum foyer also has a photograph of one of the soldiers, Junius Sneed, who was a deacon at First Baptist Church here.

Alan Gehret, museum curator, fellow staff member Roy James, and volunteer Tom Jake have — along with Audubon State Park maintenance crew members Brian Thompson, Brandon Boom and Kirby Burke — have outdone themselves to create an atmosphere reflecting that era of 150 years ago.

The maintenance crew, headed by Brian, created wrist and neck shackles to bring home the reality of slavery, and placed slabs of logs against the wall to suggest a cabin setting.

There are tools from that period, courtesy of Alan's personal collection, as well as a spinning wheel, aged rocking chair that's part of the museum collection, and other items such as .50-caliber bullets and venerable swords.

Roy, who is African-American, has become a skilled researcher throughout his involvement with museum projects such as the "Everyday People" comprehensive exhibit of local black history that he, Alan and Tom spearheaded five years ago and that makes a reappearance from time to time.

As he surveyed the list of names of local black men who went off to war to right wrongs, Roy speculated that there likely are many families here who are descended from those soldiers and don't realize it.

He related that many of those veterans are buried in three local cemeteries: Mount Zion on U.S. 60 West across from Fairmont Cemetery in Henderson, the United Brothers of Friendship Cemetery in Corydon, and Fernwood Cemetery in Henderson.

The exhibit features two regiments of Union Army black troops that had ties to this area. The 120th Colored Infantry was organized in Henderson, and the 118th Colored Infantry Regiment that was originally out of Baltimore transferred to Owensboro.

Camp Nelson in the Lexington area drew African-American men from throughout Kentucky, anxious to enlist in Company E of the 5th Regiment United States Colored Cavalry. Today, that installation is known as the Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park.

Black soldiers initially drew $10 a month, with $3 deducted for their clothing. White soldiers, on the other hand, drew $13 with no clothing deduction. That changed in June, 1864, when Congress granted equal pay to the troops and made the action retroactive. Black troops received the same rations and supplies as white troops, and reportedly comparable medical care.

They are long gone from this world, but should not be forgotten.

As Alan said Tuesday, these men and their earlier counterparts in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 "were heroes, and an important part of American history."

The "From Slave to Soldier" exhibit is free and may be visited Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. at Audubon Museum (in Henderson, Ky., for our website readers) until March 15, when the museum will revert from its winter schedule to seven-day-a-week operation. The display ends March 31.